Tag Archives: Author Interview

Guest Author (& A Giveaway?): Dorothy F. Shaw

Hi friends! So we’re well into June [GAH!] – and this birthday month hasn’t felt very celebratory or anything, so I’m hoping that comes about soon. This is another good contribution though – as you see we’ve got Dorothy F. Shaw visiting with us today! She’s a first time guest so everyone give her a warm welcome!! Dorothy opted for an author interview – a style which was unique to ALBTALS when I started asking these zany questions, and it should be good – she’s a lot of fun. šŸ˜€ Continue reading

Guest Author & A Giveaway: Patricia Sargeant aka Regina Hart Part I

Hi friends! Today we have Patricia Sargeant who also writes as Regina Hart visiting with us! And it’s the first Tuesday of the month, so we’re keeping on with the Guest Author & A Giveaway tradition! I wrote “Part I” at the top because I expect to be updating this with some more information in the near future, so please bear with me. (My mistake for not having all information.) I hope you enjoy the ALBTALBS style interview in the interim! šŸ™‚ Continue reading

Guest Author & A Giveaway: Miranda Neville

I absolutely cannot handle the fact that we’re into December. No. Unfortunately, it is what it is. (Which is a phrase I kinda hate but … it’s true, and fitting, and not a “passing the buck” when it comes to time. … Unless you’re Hermione. Or a Time Lord. Which is a Doctor Who thing, right?) Anyway. Today we have the fabulous Miranda Neville guesting with us!!! She has a book out at the end of the month so I decided to pounce on her early. You’re welcome. šŸ˜‰

She also opted for a [non]traditional ALBTALBS author interview, because why not right? We only have 12 of these a year. If that.

The Importance of Being WickedEvery single book release you have from here on out will hit #1 on the NYT and USA Today best seller lists. The catch is you can only eat pizza for the rest of your life. You can have regular pizza, and dessert pizza… but it has to be pizza. Do you take that deal? [And what type of pizza would be your “go to”?]
Are you kidding? Of course! My favorite pizzas have vegetables, hold the sausage and pepperoni. I love basil, goatā€™s cheese and sun-dried tomatoes on a thin crust.

What would your street [nick]name be? why? šŸ˜€
Posh Spice. Wait, thatā€™s been taken. Can I be Champagne Neville? Iā€™m not really a motorcycle gang girl. I aspire to bubbly and limos rather than beer and bikes.

You have the opportunity to be part of any TV show for one episode. (One that is on or off the air.) Which one do you pick, and what is your role?
Iā€™ve just glommed the entire two seasons of Alpha House, Gary Trudeauā€™s Washington sitcom. Janel Moloney (Donna from The West Wing) plays a Tea Party senator in a crazy over-the-top way that looks like sheā€™s having a blast. Iā€™ll be Psycho for a Day.

What’s the most unique/strange silly skill you possess?
Iā€™m very good at lighting bonfires. My friends call me One-Match. Come to think of it, that could be my street name. One-Match Neville.

The Ruin of a RogueWhat is one question you always wish as an author people would ask but nobody ever does?
Why are you so brilliant?

Your next life you come back as a dog. What breed do you come back as and why?
A bichon frise, because they always seem happy and everyone loves them. But I wouldnā€™t want the poofed up grooming; keep the fur short, please.

Which celebrity is your ā€œspirit animal?ā€ Why?
Emma Thompson. Because my daughter says so. (Iā€™d never heard of a spirit animal and had to ask her.)

If you were a serial killer, who would be your target? And what would be your MO? [“Calling card,” what memento would you take?] Target = old men, young men, school children, college aged women, etc.
People who weep on reality TV shows. Death by flying object. My calling card would be a photograph of Heidi Klum.

Hostile alien invasion, or zombie apocalypse? Which one do you think is more likely to happen? Which one is scarier?
Alien invasion is more likely but zombies are scarier.

Lady Windermere's LoverWhat’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever done for research? what’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned while doing research? In general, or for this book?
May I look into the future? I intend to take a balloon ride in preparation for a book about a Regency balloon race. I canā€™t really pick one interesting thing, but I can reveal that the Pantheon Opera House, built in London in the 1780s, had mahogany toilet seats in the ladiesā€™ water closet. This fact does not appear in The Duke of Dark Desires.

Which do you choose – walk in pantry, walk in closet, or extra garage space?
Walk in closet.

Can you name at least three US Supreme Court Justices without looking?
Ginsberg, Sotormayor, Kagan, Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, Kennedyā€¦. OK now I need to go check.

How did you come up with your author name?
Neville is a family name. I picked Miranda because I like it.

What was your favorite book as a child?
It changed from year to year with my age. Anne of Green Gables was a perennial favorite.

What is the super power you would most like to have? and least like to have?
Most: Invisibility. Least: X-Ray vision. Iā€™d like to be able to eavesdrop but not to see people naked.

Man I should’ve asked Miranda the spammer question, don’t you think? I bet she would’ve given a super entertaining answer. šŸ˜€ So now, it’s up to you. What outrageous and silly question do you have for Ms. Neville? Or you can definitely ask her about her writing and her books. Speaking of, this is the book that will be out on December 30th.

The Duke of Dark DesiresBook Four of The Wild Quartet
Wanted: Governess able to keep all hours . . .

Rebellious Julian Fortescue never expected to inherit a dukedom, nor to find himself guardian to three young half-sisters. Now in the market for a governess, he lays eyes on Jane Grey and knows immediately she is qualified–to become his mistress. Yet the alluring woman appears impervious to him. Somehow Julian must find a way to make her succumb to temptation . . . without losing his heart and revealing the haunting mistakes of his past.

Lady Jeanne de Falleron didn’t seek a position as a governess simply to fall into bed with the Duke of Denford. Under the alias of Jane Grey, she must learn which of the duke’s relatives is responsible for the death of her family–and take her revenge. She certainly can’t afford the distraction of her darkly irresistible employer, or the smoldering desire he ignites within her.

But as Jane discovers more clues about the villain she seeks, she’s faced with a possibility more disturbing than her growing feelings for Julian: What will she do if the man she loves is also the man she’s sworn to kill?

You can order a copy of The Duke of Dark Desires here. And of course, some lucky commenter is going to win her choice of any of Miranda Neville’s backlist. In print or in electronic book form! Whee!

SAIHM Feature + Guest Author & A Giveaway: Yasmine Galenorn

My darlings it is November! How did that happen?! Also, it’s the first Tuesday! >.> Yes. *koffs* So – it’s time for our Guest Author & A Giveaway feature! Today we have Yasmine Galenorn, she’s a first time guest at ALBTALBS so everyone give her a warm welcome! I also loved her answers, and I hope you do too.

So without further ado … your typical ALBTALBS Author Interview with Yasmine Galenorn! \o/

Courting DarknessWhich would you most like to go to? Aā€‹ncient Greece, ā€‹Rome, Egypt, China, Mesopotamia, Africa, or South America? Why?
Umā€¦can I pick Finland? Because I have a special connection thereā€”not by blood but by spirit. If not, then Mesopotamia, because I love the B52ā€™s song. *grins*

Which fairy tale would you most like to be in? ā€‹Least? Why (for both)?
Most: Iā€™m picking Where the Wild Things Are. YESā€”I maintain itā€™s a modern fairy tale! I want to travel with Max to the island and meet the Wild Things. And some times, I want to stay there, because the concept of living on a magical island full of wild creatures who were also malleable sounds like a lot of fun.

Least: Cinderella. I donā€™t believe in Happily Ever After (though I do believe in Happy For Now), I donā€™t like housework, and I want my man to be an equal partner, not my rescuer. šŸ˜‰

What’s the best book you read as a school assignment?
Watership Down. Itā€™s still my favorite book. I absolutely love it, and see it as modern myth. I had to contrast/compare it to the Odyssey in 9th grade. I still cry over the end, no matter how many times Iā€™ve read it, and my favorite character is Fiver.

What do you think about clowns?
Do we even have to go there? *shudders* Have NEVER liked clowns. They freak me out. They invade your boundaries and space and then victim-blame you for being a poor sport when you tell them to back off. I canā€™t imagine being married to a clown. That would be a deal breaker.

Night SeekerCelebrity/Author death match – who would you most want to take on? [you don’t have to say why ;)]
Oh hell, I dunno. Alyssa Day. Because I love the woman and no matter how it came out, Iā€™d be happy . *laughing*

What did you do with the money from your first royalty check?
Bought a new desk and chair and got my first tattoo! WAY back in 1998.

What items have to be close by when writing & not just the sensible stuff like research notes, but the other perhaps slightly goofy stuff (bowl of m&ms, stuffed animal, stress ball, pot of coffee).
Other than my notebooks, research, Daytimer, dozens of pens and other office suppliesā€¦there are a number of trinkets I love but the ONE constant throughout my writing life has been Miss Kitty, the porcelain kitty Iā€™ve had since I was 7 years old (and that isā€¦a little over four decades). I traded a necklace for her at school. Sheā€™s been my writing mascot ever since. I have a lot of other baubles and things, but Miss Kitty? She has to be there.

If you had to become a bear, which type would you choose? Why?
I LOVE BEARS I LOVE THIS QUESTIONā€¦*calms down* Okayā€¦Brown bear. I love brown bears. The goddess Iā€™m a priestess of created the bear in the Finnish traditions/mythos and names him Otso. Bear is tattooed on my arm. I have three cave bear teeth that are 20,000 years old. I have statues of bearsā€”including a very large one in my yard. I have pictures of bears. I have stuffed bearsā€”I love the Gund Snuffles bears and collect them. Oh, you wanted to know why? Because brown bears areā€¦bears. Isnā€™t that enough reason?

Shadow RisingA twisted fairy offers you perfect health. You’ll never be sick or get a migraine again. The catch is you’ll break a bone every three years until your 75th birthday. Nothing crippling, but still a break. (Anything from a femur to your pinky.) Do you take the offer? why or why not?
Um, sure. Considering that at most, Iā€™d maybe, possibly, live 15 years after 75 years old, thatā€™s five bones and none of them crippling? Okay. Fine. I wonā€™t be going wind surfing or sky diving at that point. Thatā€™s fine. Even at my age, if all health concerns magically vanished until I was 75ā€”sure.

If you were to become a spammer, what product would you peddle? And what would your message be? Come up with the most attention getting, creative, crazy thing. Yes, that’s a challenge.
YOU YES YOU CAN NOW HAVE INCREDIBLE HEALTH WITH WONDER WATER!

Water is vital for health but how often have you looked at the water from your tap or your water bottles and thought, Could this be healthier? Could I be getting more out of my water?

Well now, you can have the incredible ENHANCED experience of WATER CONCENTRATE THERAPY! Yes, water concentrate! By learning how to concentrate water, weā€™ve been able to strengthen its healing powers. But how is this possible?

We concentrate only the finest of waters, straight from the mountain glaciers! This adds extra minerals and nutrients to all your drinking experience.

ToHaunted Moon use WONDER WATER, simply pour one vial of WONDER WATER CONCENTRATE into a glass of tap water and stir. Drink and youā€™ll have all the concentrated benefits of over THREE GLASSES of regular water!!! Youā€™ll feel better, your skin will glow, youā€™ll reduce that pre-period bloat, and revitalize your entire body. Sign up now and weā€™ll send you your first monthā€™s supply for only $29.95! Every month thereafter, we will send you another monthā€™s worth of concentrate and bill your credit card for only $29.95. Thatā€™s less than a dollar a day for incredible health!!!

ā€‹Tā€‹ell us two truths and a lie. (The catch is you have to tell us what the lie is later in the comments)

  1. I lived in a converted school bus and slept with a hatchet by my head.
  2. I firmly believe I was an Egyptian Pharaoh in an earlier life.
  3. I never went on a date with any of my boyfriends/girlfriends/husband (and former husband) before I got involved with them romantically.

If you could be a super hero what would your super hero name be? And what would your nemesis be named? What would both of your super powers be?
The Empress of Dark Sparklies. My powers would be the ability to enchant and delight, with the darkest of sparkly magic. And my nemesis would be Grumpy Conservo-Dude, who has the power to drain the magic out of any gathering, and the fun out of any situation.

Night VisionIf you could switch places with someone for 72 hours, whose life would you want to live?
Honestly? Nobody. If I loved it more than my own, Iā€™d regret coming back. If I hated it, Iā€™d never be able to talk to that person again without thinking, ā€œI know too much about what their life is like.ā€

What five other authors do you think more people need to be reading? (You can assume you’re already on the list ;))

  1. Shawntelle Madison.
  2. Kerry Schafer
  3. Karen Mahoney
  4. Holly Black (The Coldest Girl in Cold Town is one of my favorites as of late)
  5. Chloe Neill

Who are you choosing for your zombie apocalypse team? [Real, then fictional?]
Real:

  1. My friend Andrew. Heā€™d be my choice for leader of the pack. If anybody can survive the zombie apocalypse, he can.
  2. Iā€™d be the brains.
  3. Samwiseā€”my husbandā€”to run the underground communications/computer network.
  4. Marc and Andria, my assistantsā€”both strong and handy.
  5. Carol, one of my best friends.
  6. Gary Numanā€”my favorite singer because weā€™re going to need entertainment. *koffs*celebritycrush*koffs*

Autumn WhispersFictional:

  1. Leonard McCoy from Star Trek: He can cure anything with that tricorder.
  2. Buffy: because sheā€™sā€¦Buffy.
  3. Daryl from the Walking Dead: Because besides being eye candy, you have to love a guy who can shoot a good cross bow and have no remorse.
  4. MacGyver: because he can create ANYTHING.
  5. Han Solo: because HAN SHOT FIRST!
  6. Thor: because heā€™s Thor, any other reason needed?

(Hey, you said ā€˜teamā€™ā€¦to me a team means numbers!)

What a fun interview! But now I want to talk a little about Native American Indian Heritage month, and about how that relates to me. You might not know, but Iā€™m (a significant) part Cherokee. I donā€™t talk about it much because honestly, I see it as just part of who I am. It doesnā€™t make me any more special or less special than someone whoā€™s part Norwegian or part African American.

Iā€™m one of those people who are kind of adrift about my family heritage. Most of the rest of my origin is Irish, but the honest truth is this: I donā€™t know much about a lot of my ancestors. I tried to investigate my Cherokee ancestry but my ancestors werenā€™t on the government rolls and that makes it difficult to pursue information.

Night's EndThe genealogy of my family wasnā€™t documented very well and with a great-grandma who outlived eight husbands, nobody really even knows what her original last name was, as far as I know. Our family? Not so close. Add to that, my blood father was my motherā€™s cousin (a long and involved story there. My mother left my stepfather for very good reasons, got pregnant with me, and then unfortunately went back to him)ā€¦and you begin to understand the complicated dynamics involved in my background.

However, I do know this: I grew up in a town where ethnicities werenā€™t accepted very well. I grew up hearing my stepfather refer to Native Americans as ā€˜warhoopsā€™ (right in front of my mother and me), and Hispanics as ā€˜wetbacks.ā€™ It didnā€™t make me ashamed of my background. In fact, his prejudice only served to make me leave that town and my family as soon as I could.

I also know that when my mother first married my stepfather, Grandma wouldnā€™t allow Mom to walk through the front door for a couple of years because she was part Cherokee. (Yes, I calledā€”her Grandma. Blood related or not, she actually treated me pretty nicely though everybody knew I wasnā€™t actually Hā€™s daughter. She didnā€™t take it out on me like he didā€”he abused me for just existing.)

Priestess DreamingMom was forced to go through the back door or the ā€˜servantā€™s entrance.ā€™ After my stepfather finally spoke upā€”two years laterā€”and his brother and sister argued with Grandma, she relented. But two years of being relegated to ā€˜servantā€™ status affected my motherā€™s already low self-esteem and I donā€™t think she ever recovered. When I heard the story, it made me that much more determined that Iā€™d never let anybody stop me from what I wanted to do, just because of who I was.

Once I left home, I donā€™t believe Iā€™ve ever suffered discrimination because of my ethnic background. Iā€™ve been discriminated against because of my weight, being tattooed, and to some degreeā€”being bisexualā€”more than anything else.

But yes, that, and the whole dynamic of knowing what happened to my mother, did affect my writing. In my books, there are hate groups and racism, even though itā€™s within an urban fantasy setting.

While some things in my world are idealized, others are not. In Otherworld, same-sex marriage? Legal and no problem to most people. Alternative lifestyles and sexualities? Maybe not the norm but just a matter-of-fact presence. But discrimination exists, and not only among the humans. My Dā€™Artigo Sistersā€™ father hates one of Camilleā€™s husbands simply because of his heritage. Heā€™s prejudiced. And it causes a rift and he pays a price in losing his daughtersā€™ respect.

Panther ProwlingI approach the themes of ā€˜other-nessā€™ and discrimination from a world-centric POV rather than taking it down to one ethnicity. Because I see racism and discrimination in every group, in every country, every continent, every religion, every gathering of like-individuals. There will always be a few who browbeat those who arenā€™t part of the ā€˜usā€™ in the us-and-them. So my writing focuses on oddballs and misfits, and those who liveā€”like I doā€”a little bit on the fringe. In fact, I truly donā€™t know if I believe in ā€˜normalā€™ as truly existing.

Iā€™ve always been on the outside, always been a ā€˜misfitā€™ in the norms of society. And that has made me realize how important subculture becomes. Itā€™s also made me think about how important it is that those of us in the subculture not become exclusive. We cannot allow ourselves to take on the characteristics of those who would make us feel less-than-human, less-than-acceptableā€”whether it be for our ethnic heritage, or our weight, or the way we choose to portray ourselves.

So, next time you see a heavily tattooed fat chick wearing retro-pinup clothing, before making quick assumptions about her, remember: that could easily be me. ~grins~

So tell me, how do you see yourself against what is thought of as ā€˜normalā€™ in society? Iā€™m giving a mini-book basket to one commenter (must be USA, Iā€™m sorry), including the first three books in the Otherworld Series, the first book in the Indigo Court Series, and the first book in my Chintz ā€˜n China series.

You all know how this goes! Guess – which one is the lie that she told? What crazy question do you want to ask Yasmine? (Or you know, a reasonable one. Or something about her books.) And go go GO!

Guest Author & A Giveaway: Lorelie Brown

You guys!!!! So … I’m still kinda on hiatus cuz pretty much nothing is figured out. [Although nobody has died since I went on hiatus, so that’s good? I guess holding steady is all I can ask for?] BUT!!! June is birthday month and that’s you know like a big deal. So … we’ll see how this goes and I hope to have it done and we’ll DO THIS okay?

First up – by the seat of our pants, is the wonderfulĀ  Lorelie Brown. She wanted to do an author interview. Because well, who wouldn’t? šŸ˜‰

And also? Today is release day for her! Whee!! So remember to congratulate her – don’t worry – I’ll add book info šŸ˜› but without further ado, the interview!

One LessonI know you watch Investigation Discovery so ā€¦ If you were a serial killer, who would be your target? And what would be your MO? [“Calling card,” what memento would you take?] Target = old men, young men, school children, college aged women, etc.
I think I’d go be a hooker, and then I’d kill anyone who treated me badly. Totally Eileen Wuornos style. Then I’d keep their keychains, because don’t you think there’s something personal about a set of keys? They’re the thing someone can’t leave the house without, you know?

 

Your next life you come back as a dog. What breed do you come back as and why?
I’d be a shih-tzu, but only if I could belong to an owner like me. Sleeping as many hours as I want, taken to the groomers regularly and getting free run of the furniture sounds pretty good to me. Much like my regular life, as a matter of fact.

Which celebrity is your ā€œspirit animal?ā€ Why?
Jennifer Lawrence. She’s me! See the faces she makes?Ā JLaw Gif

Or this moment, with the mint spilling and hiding. JLaw Spill GifShe’s completely me. You know, except for the fact that she’s young and has Oscars and it so damn gorgeous and fit. Other than that stuff, we’re completely alike.

What badass female character from TV (or books/movies) do you most want to be?
As of last night, I want to be Kacy Catanzaro. What’s that? You don’t know who she is? Why, she’s the very first woman to conquer the qualifying round of American Ninja Warrior. (If you don’t watch this show, you totally should. Incredibly in-shape people of all shapes, sizes and creeds doing physical shit that will BLOW YOUR MIND. And there’s shirtless men *every* show.) She ran up a 15 foot, inward curved wall. She is AMAZING. And only 5 foot tall. Here, just watch this.

Do you speak any other languages? What [other] language would you most like to learn and why?
I speak French only so much as two years of high school French means you know how to speak a language. Which is to say, not really at all. I would like to know how to speak it properly though. Fluently. Mostly because it can be such a pretty language, but also because I’d like to go to Paris and eat pastry and pretend I’m a native.

Riding the WaveHostile alien invasion, or zombie apocalypse? Which one do you think is more likely to happen? Which one is scarier?
Probably a hostile alien invasion is more likely, but I think a zombie apocalypse would be scarier. Mostly because I live in suburbia boredom land. There’s no way the aliens would bother with my area. They’d be in the bigger, cooler places where they can annihilate more humans at once.

Who are you choosing for your zombie apocalypse team? [real, then fictional?]
For my real team, can I pick Tom Hiddleston? So we can repopulate the world with beautiful babies? Or at least die trying? I mean, he is real after all.

Fictional, I’ll go with anyone from a Helenkay Dimon book. Her people are always so kickass and resourceful. Then I’ll pick up Selena and Jim from 28 Days Later, since they’ve been through this already and they’ll keep us safe. (But no one from the cast of 28 Weeks Later, because I’d be afraid their stupidity would leach into me.)

Favorite “gotta have it” drink? Alcoholic? Non-alcoholic?
I miss Coca-Cola so very, very, very much. I quit it almost two years ago. Then I moved to diet coke for a while, but I even quit that about nine months ago. I’m pretty much addicted to Canada Dry Ten and A&W Ten though. They’re my diet go-tos. Alcoholic wise, I’ve been drinking bourbon sours lately. Is that hideously geeky or retro cool? I don’t even know. I just like ’em. And didja know that most bartenders in NOLA are very generous with the bourbon? Just sayin’.

Ahead in the HeatWhat five other authors do you think more people need to be reading? Ā (You can assume you’re already on the list :P)
Carrie Lofty. Bwahahaa! Anyone who knows me, knows that’s a cheater answer since she’s my co-writer too.

Cara McKenna. I don’t understand how she’s not a best-seller. Her books are emotional and smart and angsty. Plus omg-dirty-filthy. In the best kind of way.

Charlotte Stein. Her voice is one of a kind, I love it so very hard. There is nothing on earth like a Charlotte Stein book.

Jennifer Echols. She’s my YA reading standby, plus she’s moved into full fledged adult romance. I’m behind on my reading (because there’s not enough hours in the day!) and it’s *killing* me that I haven’t read her Stargazer series yet.

Maisey Yates. She’s my favorite Presents writer. I love how she flips the standard tropes with so much loving care.

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever done for research? what’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned while doing research? In general, or for this book?
Hanging out of my trunk, trying to make sure my heroine’s wrists could be zip-tied to a support strut while she got fucked? My job, it is a strange and awesome one sometimes.

Um, the research I did for this novella had mostly to do with beer pong. The rules, the variations. What it took to win a game. You know, that kind of deep research stuff. šŸ˜‰

An Indiscreet DebutanteWould you rather win the largest SuperMegaZillions lottery in history or be #1 on the NYT Best Seller list for 25 weeks?
NYT Best Seller list. *g* If I make it ten times, my 13 year old made me promise to take him to Japan. Little does he know that hitting the list once and staying there forevah is probably better! LOL

What’s the best admonishment your mom ever gave you, or that you’ve ever given a kid? e.g. if you make that face it’ll freeze like that. or… if you walk from the kitchen to the table w/ a fork in your mouth you’ll stab yourself through the throat and die
“Don’t put your arm out the window or it’ll go home in someone else’s car.” I mean, really. Has she LOOKED at how far apart cars actually drive? Or does she think my arms are 12 feet long?

What’s your favorite tv show?
Game of Thrones. Even when G.R.R. Martin breaks my heart.

(Maybe especially then.)

Now your favorite guilty pleasure secret shame show. I’m talking real housewives, the kardashians, bridalplasty, jersey shore, etc. *shudders*
My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. It’s like six year olds were given a dress budget and a pack of colored pens and told to design their dream wedding dresses. The results are AWESOMELY HIDEOUS.

OWNWhat’s the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to you at school? What about at a conference?
It was the time a boy sitting behind me in an assembly reached up and touched my hair and said “Wow, you use a lot of gel. Your hair is crispy.” And my brilliant response was “I don’t use gel.” Not like I mentioned the other half-dozen kinds of mousse and hairspray I used, so he made this completely disgusted face and wiped his hands off on his jeans. Ugh.

At my first conference, I walked up to an author at the Literacy signing. I was surprised she had no line, because I’d thought she was more popular. “I love your books about [redacted],” I gushed. “You mean her,” she replied, pointing to the table next to her, which was surrounded by a line three deep on all sides. I’d gotten the right last name, and slightly different first name.

I can be such an idiot sometimes.

What do you think is the best commercial of all time?
I…don’t think I can remember one. Any. Does that make me the worst American of all time?

 

One LessonIn this steamy novella, itā€™ll take just one surfing lesson from a sexy billionaire to turn a beautiful, buttoned-up lawyerā€™s life upside downā€¦

As a lawyer for the surf company WavePro, Bethany Harmon prides herself on being a hardworking, rational woman. She isnā€™t easily swayed by a charming smile and handsome face. When she’s tasked with tracking down James “Jammer” Montcrief for failing to fulfill his contractual obligations, she knows thatā€™s exactly what she’s up against. But when the sexy playboy promises to finish the tour and teach Bethany how to surfā€”if she beats him in a game of beer pongā€”she agrees. And sinks every cup.

Now James has to pay up. Not that he minds. Little does Bethany realize, he has an ulterior motive. With delicious plans for the buttoned-up brunette, James means to give her everything sheā€™s demandedā€”and much, much moreā€¦

Lorelie is offering a kindle copy of One Lesson to a lucky commenter, or any of her Samhain backlist! Whee! So now – I want to see what zany questions you can come up with to ask her! Go go go!

Guest Author & A Giveaway: Ruthie Knox

My dears, it is April. I am not ok with this. I need a pause and rewind button. But! No pausing or rewinding today – we’re barreling forward with Ruthie Knox! She’s here, and she chose to do an author interview, and we’re excited about that! Whoo! Yes! šŸ˜‰

Really she’ll be much more entertaining – so here you go.

Roman Holiday: The Complete Adventure1. Your next life you come back as a dog. What breed do you come back as and why?
I come back as a mutt. Scrappy, medium size, with a slightly too large head. I never learn to walk on a leash, chew through collars, escape to roll in dead squirrels, steal pizza off your plate, and find and lick your panties when you are away from home. But Iā€™m good-tempered, and the kids love me.

Iā€™m not sure there is a why. Because that is the most awesome kind of dog to be?

2. What badass female character from TV (or books/movies) do you most want to be?
I will admit to a fondness for Sidney Bristow from Alias. Jennifer Garnerā€™s just so cute, with her dimples and her Serious Spy Face and her badass disguises. Cannot resist her.

3. What would your superhero name be? What if you were an anti hero? What would your “anti super hero power” be?
My superhero name would need to include the suffix ā€œlicious.ā€ Probably ā€œBootylicious,ā€ because I have the booty. If I were an antihero, I would be Madame X, and my power would be to shrink people and make them live in tiny elaborate dollhouses of my own devising.

Truly4. Chocolate covered strawberries, salted caramel chocolates, or chocolate covered chips? Which do you go to?
Salted caramel chocolates. But I only have six, and then I switch to the chocolate-covered chips because mmm, sugarsaltfat.

5. You have a one way ticket to any place in the world you want to go – outside the United States. Where do you choose to go and why?
I would need more than one ticket, because if you gave me one and I couldnā€™t come back or take the people I love, I wouldnā€™t go. But if I can take all my people with me, and they are all perfectly compliant to my wishes, I think maybe I take them to Spain. I spent a couple weeks there as a teenager and liked it enough that I can imagine being happy there. Toledo, perhaps. Or somewhere in the hot, dry middle of the country.

6. What is your favorite food? Why? And what is your “signature dishā€?
Iā€™m terrible at favorites, but if I had to pick one food to eat over and over again forever, it would probably be refried bean and cheese burritos. So I guess that is my favorite food? Or, failing that, milk chocolate.

7. You have a pet rock. What do you name it and how do you decorate it?
I name it Thomasina, and I decorate it with rhinestones, frosty pink lipstick, and a short blond shag.

Room at the Inn8. What celebrity is your “spirit animal?” Why?
Jodie Foster is my spirit animal. Sheā€™s wicked smart, sharp, generous, courageous, and curious. She is extremely beautiful in a way that is genuine and unthreatening. And she has a refreshingly low tolerance for bullshit.

9. Sports – do you prefer participating, or spectating? And which?
Iā€™d rather participate than spectate, but team sports are not my thing. I like all the ones you can do solitary or with a partner ā€” running, hiking, yoga, biking, etc.

10. Do you speak any other languages? What [other] language would you most like to learn and why?
I donā€™t speak any languages other than English. I took a lot of Latin, which, yeah. Iā€™d like to learn Spanish. It would make me feel like less of a privileged asshole.

11. You have to listen to the same song to 72 hours, or your family gets it. What song do you choose to listen to on repeat?
ā€œGotta Have Youā€ by The Weepies.

Big Boy12. Tell us two truths and a lie. (The catch is you’ll have to tell us which is what in the comments.)

Iā€™ve never taken an antibiotic.
I went to college when I was sixteen.
I gave birth at home.

13. You have to be part of a reality show. Which one do you pick? Which one do you absolutely refuse to be part of? Why?
Iā€™ll assume I can be part of any reality show ever ā€” Iā€™d pick The Real World. Iā€™d also choose to be twenty years old for this exercise. It would be fun to learn exactly what brand of crazy I turned out to be in that environment. I would refuse to be on Survivor, because I am intensely noncompetitive, and I would suck at every conceivable aspect of that contest.

14. You’re only allowed to read one book for the next year. Which book do you choose and why?
Iā€™d choose Lois McMaster Bujoldā€™s Miles in Love, which is cheating because itā€™s more than one book. Iā€™d like to read and reread those books, because theyā€™re great, but also perfect genre fiction, absolutely perfect and brilliant. Iā€™d learn so much.

The Camelot Series15. Ā What’s the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you at school? How about at a conference?
Once in high school, I went to the bathroom during lunch and came back to my regular (mixed-sex) lunch table to find everyone giggling and casting me furtive looks. I knew theyā€™d been talking about me, but I couldnā€™t get them to tell me what for the longest time ā€” and then finally one of them confessed that theyā€™d been talking about what I would be like if I ever received oral sex, and one of the guys had done this firetruck siren noise and lifted both arms in the air like he was on a roller coaster.

Then I died.

At my first RWA conference, I met Miranda Neville and knew Iā€™d read one of her books but couldnā€™t remember the name. Had her confused with Meredith Duran. Then went to the room, looked her up, still confused. Met her again later, told her which book, she pointed out that it was Meredith Duranā€™s book. Then I stared at her cleavage speechlessly, then left. She was very nice about it.

Isn’t Ruthie adorable? Ruthie is also very generously offering someone a copy of Roman Holiday: The Complete Adventure. (And yes – swear I will fucking pick winners! And you know … it’ll HAPPEN.)

So what questions do you have for Ms. Knox?

Guest Author & A Giveaway: Jessica Scott!

My dears, we have the wonderful Jessica Scott visiting with us today! <3 She is the cutest darn thing ever, and if she weren’t so awesome I’d hate her – seriously. She’s the bees knees. >.> Even though she was all “WTF?” To these questions. Guess she hasn’t checked out the other Author Interviews, eh? šŸ˜‰

Also? Today is RELEASE DAY!!! Yes! Her newest book All for You is out today! Pretty, yes? šŸ˜€

All for YouCan a battle-scarred warrior . . .

Stay sober. Get deployed. Lead his platoon. Those are the only things that matter to Sergeant First Class Reza Iaconelli. What he wants is for everyone to stay out of his way; what he gets is Captain Emily Lindberg telling him how to deal with his men. Fort Hood’s newest shrink is smart as a whip and sexy as hell. She’s also full of questions-about the army, its soldiers, and the agony etched on Reza’s body and soul.

. . . open his heart to love?

Emily has devoted her life to giving soldiers the care they need-and deserve. Little does she know that means facing down the fierce wall of muscle that is Sergeant Iaconelli like it’s just another day at the office. When Reza agrees to help her understand what makes a soldier tick, she’s thrilled. Too bad it doesn’t help her unravel the sexy warrior in front of her who stokes her desire and touches a part of her she thought long dead. He’s the man who thinks combat is the only escape from the demons that haunt him. The man who needs her most of all . . .

And because it’s Black History Month (and sometimes called Black Heritage Month) – I gave Ms. Scott an “assignment” of sorts. This is what she came up with. Very thoughtful <3

How about this: Before we get to the fun, though, we need to take a moment to remember that February is Black History Month. I was talking with my daughters the other day about Black History Month and why it was important. I pulled up a video of Martin Luther King’s I Have A Dream Speech. I told them to listen to his words and to look at that crowd. The crowd was a diverse group: there were whites and blacks standing together fighting for the right to simply stand together.

I think we’ve forgotten far too much that we are stronger together than we are divided and that we must continue the fight for equality. We may not get there together but we still have to carry on the torch that Dr King and Rosa Parks and so many others have left us.

Now … to the fun inanities! (Which you know, is how I operate :X)

Back to YouIf you were a candy, which one would you be? Along those lines, what would you put in your perfect candy bar?
Mounds with the option to be Almond Joy because well, I am a little bit nuts sometimes.

What’s the best admonishment your mom ever gave you, or that you’ve ever given a kid? e.g. if you make that face it’ll freeze like that. or… if you walk from the kitchen to the table w/ a fork in your mouth you’ll stab yourself through the throat and die
My mom told me when I was a kid that she didn’t like onions when she was little and now she loved them. I may have said the exact same thing to my kids. I hear my mother far too often in my own voice. It’s scary, honestly.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?
Well, I managed to dodge octopus when we were in Korea. My husband had to eat one that a little old lady forced on him. He said it tasted like salty rubber. I chickened out.

What do you prefer? Winter Olympics, or Summer? And which sport/event?
I think I like the Winter Olympics probably because it involves being in lots of clothing and well, bathing suits and I aren’t on speaking terms currently:) Downhill skiing. I miss skiing.

What do you think about clowns?
That they are best avoided.

When did you get your first aol screen name? Do you remember what it was?
Waaay back in the dark ages of 1996. It was Space Frog. Don’t ask.

It's Always Been YouDeadliest Warrior. Who would win? A Ninja or a Viking?
Ugh, you’re going to make me choose between my love of Johanna Lindsey’s Vikings and Laura Kinsale’s The Shadow and The Star? I have to vote for Samuel. The ninja takes it in this case.

What’s the first type of alcohol you ever tried to drink? Is there a story to tell?
Heh, not one that can be shared in public but the first thing I ever drank was 151 and Mountain Dew. I’ll leave the details to your imagination but it was not a good night.

If you were to become a spammer, what product would you peddle? And what would your message be? Come up with the most attention getting, creative, crazy thing. Yes, that’s a challenge.
ugh…

Did you ever wake up laying on the sidewalk in front of a McDs in Tokyo at 5 AM after a night of drunken debauchery? If yes what were you doing? If no – tell us – what do you imagine it would take for such a thing to happen?
Nope. Never gonna happen. I’m a good girl. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it and anyone who can say otherwise is no longer living šŸ™‚

What are your five most prized possessions?
The things that would get saved in a fire: My kids, my cats, my dogs and my hamsters and my photo albums. You can replace everything else.

Anything for YouHostile alien invasion, or zombie apocalypse? Which one do you think is more likely to happen? Which one is scarier?
Zombie apocalypse is so going to happen and it terrifies the hell out of me.

A person has you trapped and will shoot you if you do not a) eat yourself sick on something and b) watch a marathon for 72 hours. What do you choose to eat, and what show/series or movie would you watch?
Ice cream and Lord of the Rings

If you could be a super hero, what would your nemesis be named? And what would your super hero name be?
I always wanted to be Jean Grey. Or Rogue. Rogue would be awesome. I have no idea how to answer that otherwise. My nemesis? Snappy Cumberpatch? I don’t freaking know, lol!

Coffee, tea, other caffeine, or no caffeine? Also, how do you take your coffee/tea/other?
Caffeine of the coffee persuasion with LOTs of cream and sugar.

Hee! So I hope you get to know Jessica a little better with these silly questions. Now, it’s your turn! What questions do you have for her? And note, all you happy print readers … Ms. Scott is giving away a print copy of I’ll be Home for Christmas. Let’s do this!

Pssst – someone ask her about Space Frog! >.>

Oh and note, Anything for You is free right now! Grab the goodness! For the prize, I know you want to know about what’s up for grabs, so here’s the back cover copy for I’ll Be Home For Christmas …Ā 

I'll Be Home For ChristmasThere’s nothing in the world Army Sergeant Vic Carponti loves more than his wife and his country. Smart-mouthed and easy tempered, he takes everything as a joke . . . except his promise to come home to his wife, Nicole, for Christmas. As he prepares to leave for his latest deployment into Iraq, Vic will do everything he can to shield his beautiful, supportive wife from the realities of war . . . and from his own darkest fears.As a career army wife, Nicole Carponti knows just what to expect from her husband’s tour of duty: loneliness, relentless worry, and a seemingly endless countdown until the moment Vic walks through the door again. But when the unthinkable happens, Nicole and Vic’s bond is tested like never before and changes everything they believe to be true about the power of love and the simple beauty of being home for the holidays.

Guest Author & A Giveaway: Erica Monroe

My dears, I am alive! Alive and not cold for the moment and a happy girl. Today we have a new author visiting with us, Erica Monroe, and it was all very much a surprise, but a good one. šŸ™‚ She’s also continued the new trend of asking herself questions. … In a way. I like that she put her own twist on it. Very fitting for A Little Bit Tart, A Little Bit Sweet.

Even more fun, she’s a debut author, and her book just came out two days ago! Everyone give her a very warm welcome!

A Dangerous Invitation So, when Lime told me about the author interview on her site, she encouraged me to really go whole-hog with the questions. Be original. But see, hereā€™s the thing about thatā€”I write dark, gritty historical romances. Inside my head is a weird place to be, as Iā€™m sure youā€™ll understand from my answers to the following questions. I polled my readers to see what theyā€™d like me to talk about today, and made the solemn promise Iā€™d answer whatever they asked.

Whatā€™s your favorite thing to research when writing?

Lord hope the FBI doesnā€™t ever find my bookshelves or Internet searches, as with writing historical romantic suspense, things get a little suspicious. Upstairs Iā€™ve got a bunch of books with titles like ā€œBody Trauma,ā€ ā€œCrime and Punishment in the 19th Century,ā€ ā€œMadams, Bawds, and Brothel Keepers,ā€ ā€œThe Italian Boy: A Tale of Murder and Body Snatchingā€ (basis for the case I use in A Dangerous Invitation). My newest exciting purchase is ā€œPleasure and Pain: Opium and the Orient in the 19th Century.ā€ I enjoy learning about how the lower class lived, and the more obscure the statistic is, the more I love it.

Whatā€™s the weirdest death youā€™ve used in a novel?

In my debut novel, A Dangerous Invitation, my hero is charged with the stabbing of a warehouse laborer. Said laborer had his throat slit, which isnā€™t very original, now that I think about it. Iā€™m just getting started with my Rookery Rogues series, so itā€™s my new personal goal to make sure I write a death scene that hasnā€™t been used 5,000 times before. The ā€œDeath by being oversexed by oneā€™s mistressā€ is always a classic, but Iā€™m thinking more like death by a vicious disease that makes it so Scully from the X-Files has to come investigate your demise. (What? I like the X-Files, and I really wish Scully would pop out of my TV.)

Any favorite snacks you like to eat while writing?

Ah, youā€™ve found the way to my heart with this question. Iā€™m married to a man who is a classically trained chef, and Iā€™ve never met a (gluten free) pastry I didnā€™t love. When writing, I like to eat chocolate, almonds, and potato chips. Sometimes I go through a period where I eat an entire box of Dots while writing a scene. Said husband does not enjoy this, as then Iā€™m loaded with sugar and springing off the walls.

Youā€™ve been known to have a Twitter Army. Should we be concerned?

Yes, very much so. Given enough coffee, Iā€™m pretty sure I could put my world domination plans into action. I have a friend who addresses me as ā€œThe Dictator.ā€ Iā€™d like to institute this as a national order, personally. All applications for joining my fabulous pink-wearing, glitter-covered Army can be taken through carrier pigeon.

Have you ever tried to stand on your head?

Yes, and it went very badly for me. I am highly uncoordinated. My idea of ā€œdancingā€ is to bop around because I cannot move my hips independently. As a child, I tried to take both dancing and gymnastics classes. Eventually when they figured out I could neither do a split nor had the ability to maintain silence throughout an entire routine, my mother was kindly told by my instructors maybe itā€™d be best if I didnā€™t come back to class. I guess they feared the damage I was doing to my brain by continually falling down, to which I want to say, ā€œhah, fooled you, it just made me more creative.ā€

If you could have dinner with any four people, dead or alive, who would you pick? And WHY?

Iā€™d like to see my father again, so thatā€™d be one for sure. Then Iā€™d like to meet Jane Austen, as she founded my love for British literature. Iā€™d also like to meet Aubrey Hepburn, because sheā€™s my all-time favorite actress and she intrigues me as a person. I was once Jean Jacques Rousseau in a historical reenactment salon for high school, so Iā€™d kind of like to meet him and punch him in the nose. (As much as I found his social philosophies intriguing, he was kind of a tool.)

A Wayward ManWhat authorā€™s works do you avoid like the plague?

There are certain times in your formative education when you are forced to read books you donā€™t like, and because you then have to attend a three-week unit on them afterwards, you get a little angry and bear a probably entirely unjustified resentment toward that author. Iā€™ll confess I harbor such resentment toward Richard Wright for having to read Native Son while I should have been studying for my AP Euro final. Intellectually, I recognize the value of his book and its contribution to American literature, but I will never, ever read it again.

I also hate with the passion of a thousand burning suns Emily Bronteā€™s Wuthering Heights, though it has been explained to me now in a way that makes me a little less ragey. As much as I love 19th century British lit, this just isnā€™t the book for me.

Would you be a man for a week?

Sure, why not? Iā€™d like to be like Jack on Will and Grace. I donā€™t really think I could pull off an alpha male type man. Assuming Iā€™d keep my current voice, it would sound like Minnie Mouse has been put into Sylvester Stalloneā€™s body, and nobody could take that seriously. I assume Iā€™d also still be quite short, which just adds to the awkward picture.

If you could be any piece of (time) period underwear, what would you be?

Iā€™d like to be a bustle. I mean, think about it. Have you ever tried to wear a bustle? You start knocking into stuffā€”and peopleā€”with your rear. Imagine the chaos you could cause as bustle. Whole parties of people could be rolled over by the sheer might of your fanny. That kind of power might get to my head, though.

Whatā€™s your favorite words for naughty bits?

Cock. Itā€™s a rooster, itā€™s a tilt to your head, itā€™s a penis. I admire the ambiguity. Plus, it works in both historical and modern times.

What is the stupidest thing youā€™ve ever done when drunk?

Iā€™m not actually a heavy drinker, given the fact that Iā€™m definitely a lightweight. But I do remember one time about four years ago in which I decided I was very angry at my husband over something he did four years prior to that, and I smashed two wine glasses and poured wine in his lap. I have no idea why I was that astronomically angry, but there you have it. Suffice to say he was not pleased. Then I had to buy two new wine glasses, which totally goes against my cheap-ass mentality.

Top or bottom?

Why, a lady never tellsā€¦or something equally vague here, right? But I will say it depends on the position.

Whatā€™s your favorite TV show?

So many. Top contenders are Castle, Chuck, The X-Files, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, Friends, Modern Family, The Originals, Elementary, and Sleepy Hollow.

Iā€™m giving an e-copy of my debut novel, A Dangerous Invitation.

Pertinent information about me you may need:

A Dangerous InvitationOne fatal mistake cost Daniel Oā€™Reilly the woman he loved, spiraling him toward drunken self-destruction. Now sober, heā€™ll have to prove heā€™s innocent of the murder he was accused of three years ago. But pistol-wielding Kate Morgan hasnā€™t forgiven his sins.

Torn from her privileged existence by her fatherā€™s death, Kate Morgan has carved out a new independent life in the Ratcliffe rookery as a fence for stolen goods. Danielā€™s invitation to assist him jeopardizes her structured existence. Yet Kate canā€™t resist his touch, or the wicked desires he stirs within her.

As their renewed passions grow reckless, their investigation takes them through the darkest and most depraved areas of the City. To catch a killer, theyā€™ll have to put secrets behind them and trust only their hearts.

Bio: Erica Monroe writes dark, suspenseful historical romance. Her debut novel, A Dangerous Invitation, Book 1 of the Rookery Rogues series, released in December 2013. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America, Heart of Carolina, and the Beau Monde Regency Romance chapter. When not writing, she is a chronic TV watcher, sci-fi junkie, lover of pit bulls, and shoe fashionista. She lives in the suburbs of North Carolina with her husband, two dogs, and a cat.

So now I want to know, what questions do you have for Ms. Monroe? (And how has the new year been going for you?)

Special Guest Author & A Giveaway: Shannon McKenna!!!

You guys! I cannot believe it’s already December! I can’t think about it. It’s also 2:23 AM and I kinda feel like I want to die but I have to get this done because it’s Shannon McKenna!!! MeltdownĀ  and Out of Control are like two of my most favorite romances ever. If you’ve never read them, you must. Must. But anyway, I got Shannon to visit with us today, and she’s our special author of the month, and can you believe it – the last one of 2013!! Eep! But way to end on a high note, right? šŸ˜‰ I had the chance to meet Shannon a few years ago and she isĀ delightful.

Ms. McKenna opted for an “Author Interview” so … here we go! (I hope you enjoy – one of them made me cackle snort. :X)

Standing in the ShadowsHi, Lime! Thanks so much for inviting me to be on your delightful blog! Iā€™m so pleased to be here! And hello to all of you reading!

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever done for research? what’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned while doing research? In general, or for this book?ā€¬
Well, gee. I have been playing around with this mind control trope for several books now, because it fascinates me, and itā€™s a metaphor for the way I fear we are already being controlled, in subtle and not so subtle ways, by the media, by our addiction to our devices and our social media, etc. I have been unnerved by the ways we are expanding our mental function with devices, and I doubt it will stop there. My fantasies about neuroscience allowing people ever deeper into each otherā€™s heads, challenging the very basic premise of what it is to be a human being, are becoming more possible every day. A couple months ago, I found this article.

I was so horrified! We as humans are just not ready to go where this research will inevitably take us (if it hasnā€™t already gone there, long ago!) No matter how many innocent applications this research might have, I am sure that greedy, opportunistic people are rubbing their hands together and thinking ā€œka-ching.ā€ I call myself a ā€œlazy conspiracy theorist,ā€ which is to say, plenty paranoid, but I donā€™t really have the time to do the research to be a proper conspiracy theorist, having book deadlines and small children. So mostly, Iā€™m left with just the sense of creeping menace, but no hard facts to back it up. So what do I do? I make up crazy stories about my worst nightmares, and then create heroes and heroines to defeat them utterly and rescue us all. Works for me.

Out of ControlHostile alien invasion, or zombie apocalypse? Which one do you think is more likely to happen? Which one is scarier?
Alien invasion, no contest! I do not stay awake nights worrying about either one, because I believe we are doing an admirable job of destroying our world and ourselves without any help at all from zombies or aliens, but I think that it is almost a certainty that there are other beings out there. The only reason I donā€™t say ā€œan absolute certaintyā€ is because I have not seen them with my own eyes. But the universe is so huge. It makes no sense, that we would be the only onesā€”but they must be so different from us, their agenda so unfathomable and unknowable. And they would probably also have the same personality ranges, from saintly good to twisted evil that we have here on Earthā€”why wouldnā€™t they? I believe there is always roughly the same percentages of people in any given place who are either doing their best to be kind and decent, or else just looking out for number one. With a handful on the far ends of the spectrum, a few noble righteous heroes, a sprinkling of hideous monsters. Can you tell I love sci fi? Heh.

A twisted fairy offers you perfect health. You’ll never be sick or get a migraine again. The catch is you’ll break a bone every three years until your 70th birthday. Nothing crippling, but still a break. (Anything from a femur to your pinky toe.) Do you take the offer?
Hell, no! Iā€™ll take my chances with colds and flu and whatever else happens! And what about after Iā€™m seventy? I hope to live to be a hundred! Thatā€™s a long time that I wouldnā€™t be covered! A whole generation! (I had a great aunt that lived to be 104. My great grandmother died at the age of ninety-four after having eighteen children. Who knows if I inherited their tough Ukrainian sinews or not? Only time will tell.

All About MenWhat five dead authors would you invite to a dinner party if you could?
Charlotte Bronte, Emily Dickinson, Dorothy Parker, Louisa May Alcott and Sappho. Big hen party. Wow, what a mix.

Do you have any writing rituals or superstitions? Either for before you begin a book, while you’re writing it, or around the time the book is released?
Not a lot of them, but I am very nervous about talking about a book to anyone before I have at least finished a first draft, as if the energy of another personā€™s attention could derail that delicate point of contact between my subconscious mind and the blank page. Itā€™s so important to be able to write bad, stupid horrible shit without being judged for itā€”the minute someone looks at the writing, they start to have opinions that need to be fended off. Itā€™s a mysterious thing.

Assume reincarnation. You have the power to bring Hitler back as any animal/creature you want for his next ten lives. What do you pick? (Or would you switch it up? And if so, what?)
Wow, thatā€™s tough! Ten lives? That would hardly be enough to work out the karma that guy took onto himself! But itā€™s a complicated question, because he was totally insane. My first thought is that he should definitely be reborn into lives in which he has to experience just what he dished out, but that is problematic, since it requires envisioning more concentrated cruelty. My mind boggles at the task. Maybe Iā€™d just take him back to animal form. Let him be an ox, pulling a heavy plow for a hundred lives or so, and then a sheep chewing on the grass a few hundred more. Just let him take a big, loooonnnggg time out, and chill the hell out before he tries again with human form.

Tasting FearWhat is one question you always wish as an author people would ask but nobody ever does?
I donā€™t believe in having expectations, insofar as it is humanly possible. (This is my ideal, zen-calm self! I realized, as soon as I wrote that, that I have all kinds of expectations; about toilet seats being put down, and undies getting into the laundry, and homework getting done on time, and violins getting practiced, and people obeying traffic signals, but hey. I try) Longing for validation from people is just setting myself up for suffering and pissiness, and dissatisfaction in general. Iā€™m just happy that people read my books. They donā€™t need to have any curiosity about me or my process at all, as long as they enjoy the end result!

If you were a serial killer, who would be your target? And what would be your modus operandi? [What would be your “calling card,” and what memento from each victim would you take?] (Is your target = old men, young men, school children, college aged women, etc.)
Um. Blinking, stupidly. I just canā€™t go there! I tried to watch Dexter, because I think that actor is brillaint, but I just couldnā€™t bond with a guy that would do that. And I do plenty of blood and guts in my stories, too! This is a tough one, because I have really internalized the concept that curses come home to roost tenfold, so you better watch out what you put out there into the universe. Iā€™m such a wuss! I donā€™t want to take any chances!

Another issue is, if I create a character, I have to be able to love him or her, probably because s/he is just another facet of myself. I canā€™t imagine an instance in which I could love a serial killer. My imagination just wonā€™t stretch that far! It thwacks right back in my face, like a rubber band! (ouch!)

Baddest Bad BoysTell us two truths and a lie. (The catch is you’ll have to tell us what the truth is eventually in the comments. :D)
Letā€™s see . . . My favorite kidā€™s book is Anne of Green Gables. I love sexy high-heeled shoes. And I grew up in a in a hippie enclave, in a fragrant cloud of smoke.

Who/what is your favorite cartoon character of all time? Why?
Letterman, from The Electric Company! Whoā€™s faster than a rolling O, more powerful than silent E, and able to leap capital T in a single bound? God, I loved that show when I was little. It taught me to read early, which influenced my destiny!

You have to listen to only one genre of music for the rest of your life. What do you pick?
Classic sixties and seventies rock. I just love the stuff. Gimme that old time rock and rollā€”that kinda music just soothes the soul!

You have the opportunity to be part of any TV show for one episode. (One that is on or off the air.) Which one do you pick, and what is your role?
I want to be in Prison Break . . . I want to be rescued by dreamboat Michael, mmmmm, and then break him out of prison with my intrepid brilliance, and go live with him on a desert island forever. Hell with Sarah. She was such a sad sack, always moping around. Kick her to the curb. Recast it, with me, me, me! Ahem. (cough)

What’s the most unique/strange silly skill your possess?
I can make a seriously awesome pancake man with chocolate chip eyes for my kids. Or a pancake teddy bear, too, when put to it. I have even been known to make pancake aliens, to return to the alien theme. I guess I have an affinity for aliens.

One Wrong MoveWhat’s the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to you at school? What about at a conference?
I havenā€™t been to enough conferences to have embarrassments to recount, sadly, but how about the time I was caught reading a very erotic spoof of the Lord Of The Rings that Iā€™d picked up from home, on my playground during recess, in the second grade. I believe the playground monitor caught me reading a very spicy interlude between Dildo Baggins and the seductive Queen of the Elves. They called my parents. Very bad scene. It was pretty embarrassing for my mother, but I think I weathered it all right. And just look how I turned out in the end! (cackling)

Which fairy tale would you most like to be in? least? Why? Which character would you want to be?
Iā€™m really fascinated these days by the tale of the Frog Prince. I recently read this essay about zen meditation that talked about the trope of ā€œfinding the golden ball,ā€ which requires the collaboration of some unattractive or scary or icky creature from the watery depths, like the frog, or the scary witch, or whatever; it depends on the culture, and the version of the tale. The essay asserts that around the age of eight or so, we lose that ā€œgolden ballā€ which represents the wonder and innocence of our childhood, and then we spend the rest of our adulthood trying to recuperate the mature version of that marvel and wonder. But in order to do so, we must make peace with the deep, scary, wild, unattractive aspects of ourselves which come from the barren wilderness or the cold watery depths. We have to kiss the frog, so to speak. So Iā€™m just here to state, to everyone concerned, that Iā€™m fully ready to kiss any and all frogs who come along. I want that golden ball. I really, really want it. Itā€™s why Iā€™m a writer. Itā€™s why I love this crazy stuff so much. Not only do I want my own golden ballā€”I want my stories to help everyone else find their golden balls, too. Golden balls for everyone!

Thanks for the wacky and wonderful questions, Lime! I wish everyone many wonderful books and magical golden balls charged with wonder and mystery (Christmas balls, too!) for the holiday season to come!

Thanks so much for being such a good sport, Shannon! Now, I want to know – have any of you read Shannon McKenna’s books before? Do you like romantic suspense? And books with a lot of heat? (Sexytimes of omg yes.)

Fatal StrikeLara Kirk lives in a shadowy world where reality and fantasy are one. Her captors have poisoned her body with concoctions that enhance psychic abilities – and they seem to be working. To escape, Lara has formed a deep attachment with a man whose virile, sensual presence in her mind is her only comfort. She’s not even sure if he’s real – until the six-foot-five-inch powerhouse bursts in to rescue her…Once freed, Lara has no choice but to trust Miles with her life as they run from enemies too twisted to imagine. But they’re also fighting a dangerous attraction that could kill – or save – them both. Either way, it’s going to be a hell of a ride…

And pssst One Wrong Move is on sale right now for just $1.99! Amazon tells me that’s 75% off! Come on – I saw you ogling that cover. Admit it. šŸ˜›

You know the drill – ask Shannon any question you like. Be it about her books, writing, or you know, try to top one of the crazy ones I asked her. šŸ˜‰ I like being entertained. And someone will win a copy of Fatal Strike! Yay! And so you know what you might be getting…

Guest Author & A Giveaway: Jess Dee!!!

You guys – Jess Dee is amazing. She has been nothing but patient and kind and you know, a fantabulous author, so I’m thrilled to have her visiting with us today! She’s the special author for November! Whee!! (Although holy hell how did it get to be so late in the year already?!)

If you missed it, you should check out the spoof story Jess Dee and Mari Carr wrote specifically for us at ALBTALBS! An original work! Yes! For you!

And for her guest post, Jess chose an author interview, ALBTALBS style. šŸ˜€ I hope you enjoy.

Office AffairYou have to be a nun, a kindergarten teacher, or a trash[woman] for a week. Which do you pick and why?
Oh, man. I have to be one of these?
Yikes. Okay, well I have no choice but to select my answer by process of elimination.
I write erotic romance, so I could never be a nun.
I donā€™t have the patience to handle my own kids for a day, so a kindergarten teacher isnā€™t gonna work.
I guess that leaves trashwoman ā€“ or as we call them here in Australia, a garbo.

Did you ever wake up laying on the sidewalk in front of a McDs in Tokyo at 5 AM after a night of drunken debauchery? If yes what were you doing? If no – tell us – what do you imagine it would take for such a thing to happen?
Oh, I did. I did. Just the once. But I was sworn to secrecy, and have thus promised never to tell anyone the how or the whys of it all.
Itā€™s a pity, coz itā€™s a really, really good story. *coughs* cop out *coughs*

Photo OpportunityWhat is your spirit animal?
I wasnā€™t sure, so I went online and did a bit of research. Turns out my spirit animal is the deer.
That one surprised me. I always just figured it was a lion or leopard. Or maybe even an eagle.
(You too can find your spirit animal, by clicking here. Itā€™s fun.)

Now, if you had to become an animal, which would it be?
A bottle-nosed dolphin.
In fact I always kind of figured if there is such a thing as reincarnation, Iā€™d come back in my next life as a dolphin.

What’s the first type of alcohol you tried? Is there a story there?
To be honest, I donā€™t know what it was. I was young (like 5 or 6) and at a big family gathering and I spotted a glass of coke on the table. Knowing I wasnā€™t allowed coke (waaaaay too unhealthy), I looked all around to make sure my mom wasnā€™t watching, then snuck a huge sip.
Big mistake!
Only TylerYep, it was coke ā€“ but that wasnā€™t all. There was something else in there too. Something very bitter and very strong and possibly the worst thing I have ever tasted in my life. Took me a long time to ever taste coke again. *Haaa I have a similar story with Sprite! … Didn’t take me that long to drink Sprite though as soda [pop!] was such a treat.

Walk in pantry, walk in closet, or extra garage space?
Iā€™m sorry, I refuse to choose between extra pantry or extra closet space. I need them both.

What do you think is the best commercial of all time?
My first choices are all old South African commercials that I canā€™t even find on YouTube to share with you.
This ā€œBig Adā€ is probably my favorite Aussie choice:

What super power would you most like to have?
I want to fly. I would love to fly.
And least?
Iā€™m not sure thereā€™s a super power I wouldnā€™t want. (Does that make me a power hungry cow?)

You’re a character in a fairy tale. Which story and which character do you pick?
I want to be Prince Cahrming. Not because I secretly wish I was a man, but because, damn it, the prince always has the best life. He lives in a castle, goes on amazing adventures, is a brave hero, has loads of friends (and gold), thereā€™s always someone watching his back, he has women falling at his feet, and he unfailingly finds the one perfect person to love.
Seriously, you couldnā€™t get more fairy tale perfection than that.

You’ve been cursed as a Disney villain. Who would you most want to be?
Shere Khan from the Jungle Book.
Or maybe Shenzi, the hyena from the Lion King.

What three dead authors would you invite to a dinner party?
Jane Austen
William Shakespeare
Anne Frank

Visiting ParadiseWhat’s the best admonishment your mom ever gave you, or that you’ve ever given a kid? e.g. if you make that face it’ll freeze like that. or… if you walk from the kitchen to the table w/ a fork in your mouth you’ll stab yourself through the throat and die.
ā€œDonā€™t eat corn before you swim. It will swell in your tummy and youā€™ll drown.ā€
Really, Ma? Really?

If you have to listen to a song 24/7 for four days, which one would you choose?
Ack! I donā€™t know. I wouldnā€™t choose a song I love, coz Iā€™d only end up hating it, and if I chose a song I hated it would drive me to drink.
I think Iā€™d have to go for something that I have no opinion about one way or the other. Maybe a Beethoven symphony. (Does that count?)

You can only eat three things for the rest of your life – prepared the same way – what do you pick?
Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
šŸ˜€

Hidden FireHow’d you come up with your author name?
I combined the first name (Jess) and the nickname (Dee) of two of three people I love most in this world.

In a death match, who would win? A Ninja or a Viking?
Iā€™m going to have to go with Viking here, but only because the only Viking I know is Eric the Vampire from Sookie Stackhouse, and as far as Iā€™m concerned, it doesnā€™t matter what contest you put him in, he will always win!

Thanx for having me over, Lime.

Jess

———————

More than Words
Heā€™s just seen the one thing that was meant for her eyes only.
More Than, Book 3

Molly Harris never intended to send that letter. It was only meant to be a secret record of her true feelings for her boss, gorgeous pediatrician Sam Shepard. But in the chaos of a crazy day at work, Molly accidentally hits ā€œsendā€ instead of ā€œdeleteā€.

Mortified by her mistake, Molly acts in the only way she can. She submits her notice of resignation. A professional-etiquette lineā€™s been crossed, and thereā€™s no going back.

Samā€™s mouth goes dryā€”then it watersā€”when he discovers his receptionist has sent him a dirty love letter. Or to be more explicit, a wicked, erotic love letter, neatly outlining her many fantasies involving him.

Now Sam has two choices. Either he can be the ultimate professional and accept Mollyā€™s resignation, or he can acknowledge the depths of his desire and maybe, just maybe, convince her to send him another saucy emailā€¦

Warning: Could cause the uncontrollable urge to writeā€”and receiveā€”dirty love letters. But proceed with cautionā€¦youā€™re going to want to act on those letters. Immediately.

Jess has also offered one lucky commenter her choice of Jess’s books – one, or potentially a series. In the digital format of her choice. (Or his – have we ever had a male win? Anyway.)Ā  We’ll see how this goes and how nice all of you are to me. šŸ˜‰